An effort in f a c i l i t a t i o n

What is al Baaqiyaat-us-Salihaat ?

When someone you are deeply attached to departs, you feel sad, lonely, and dejected.

When Ramadhaan leaves us, we feel abandoned.

When you have to wind up your Umrah/Hajj journey and you know that this is your last sight of Ka’bah, your spiritual heart bleeds.

The absence of permanence in different facets of our life is the common factor for all our heartbreaks.

Allah knows of this emotional vacuum in us and therefore graciously tells us to hold on toal Baaqiyaat-us-salihaat, the deeds of lasting permanence. Things that would give us company even in our graves. Those that will save us from eternal damnation.

Salihaat = good deeds,al baaqiyaat = the enduring, those that remain forever.

The synonymous word for salihaatin the Qur’an is hasanaat, and its antonym is sayyi’aat = evil deeds

Our glorious Prophet sal-lal-laahu-alaihi-wa-sallam said:

“When carried to his grave, a dead person is followed by three, two of which return (after his burial) and one remains with him: his relative, his property, and his deeds follow him; relatives and his property go back while his deeds remain with him.”Sahih al Bukhari

The enduring good deeds are خير better in the sight of your Lord. Al Baaqiyaat-us-salihaat are better in terms of reward ثوابا they will bring and they are better in that they kindle hope أَمَلًا in you about recognition or reward and motivation to do good deeds. And what more, al baaqiyaat-us-salihaat are better for recourse مَّرَدًّا

And by the way, a Recourse is “an opportunity or choice to use or do something in order to deal with a problem or situation”.

Now, before proceeding, I would like to ask you a question.

What qualifies a good deed as a good deed?

People who do not believe in Allah or people who associate partners with Allah also do good deeds, right? What about them?

The answer is found in the last ayah of Surah al Kahf, which many Muslims read every Friday but unfortunately without giving thought!

“So whoever would hope for the meeting with his Lord – let him do righteous work andnot associate in the worship of his Lord anyone.”Surah al Kahf 18:110

In Islam, any kind of adulteration or contamination in worship is rejected straightaway!

Now you understand why Laa ilaaha (negation) comes first in the kalimah!

The words highlighted in red are meant to tell you that there is a conditional clause used in this ayah. If you want to meet Allah in the Hereafter, then you should do two things: do good deeds and do not commit the blunder of associating partner/s with Allah.

To answer the above question more clearly, let me reiterate the fact that something will be considered as saalihonly when it is done for the sake of Allah, with ikhlaas = sincerity, while not associating anyone in His worship.

Allah declares with full force that:

مَا عِندَكُمْ يَنفَدُ ۖ وَمَا عِندَ اللَّـهِ بَاقٍ

“Whatever you have will end, but what Allah has is lasting.”Al Nahl 16:96

وَالْآخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَىٰ

We buy things and keep for future use even though there is no guarantee that we will definitely use them.

Expatriates buy many things with the intention to use them when they go back to their native country. It so happens that the person dies, and things remain unused! This is the investment for this dunya.

Investment for Aakhirah never goes waste. The good deeds we do here in this world will come back to us in the form of great rewards, inshaaAllah:

“But whoever comes to Him as a believer having done righteous deeds – for those will be the highest degrees [in position]: Gardens of perpetual residence beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally. And that is the reward of one who purifies himself.”Surah Taha 20: 75, 76

I will conclude this post by quoting random references from Tafseer Ibn Kathir wherein the great scholar mentions some examples of enduring good deeds.